<x-flowed> M.I.G. common reference MIG = Metalic Inert Gas. Don't let any sales
brochure fool you, there is no such thing as a "gasless" MIG. The gas shield
prevents oxygen from getting near the weld puddle and leaves no slag to
remove like ARC welding and wire feed does.
That said, I use a Hobart Handler 110 for sheet metal, it only requires
a 110 volt 20 amp circuit, I take this one to the jeep races because I can
run it with the generator on the motorhome. Yes it only has a 10% duty cycle
(12 seconds of welding for every 2 minutes the machine is on) but welding
sheet metal is just a series of tack welds anyway. There are larger and more
robust(and more expensive) wirefeed/MIG units out there, but as a hobbiest I
havent found a better value.
This machine is very portable and is convertable. In the MIG
configuration with the gas shield on(CO2/Argon) I run solid core wire and
get nice clean welds on steel. Change the gas bottle to straight Argon,
change the spool of wire, change the liner and weld 6061 Aluminum.
Going to the races? Remove the gas line, change the spool to "flux core"
wire and I've got a wire feed welder that I can run with the motorhome
generator. This unit has kept many people racing through the weekend after
they've broken on Saturday morning.
I have several welders and if I were forced to go down to just 2 at the
house they would be my Miller AC/DC stick and the little Hobart Handler 110.
Just my personal experience...
Tom Hay
2 X '72 Variants
and something wonderful coming soon!
----Original Message Follows----
From: Ben Doughney <ben_d@clear.net.nz>
To: Type 3 <type3@vwtype3.org>
Subject: Re: welding and UN-welding
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 21:41:44 +1300
on 14/3/02 4:51 PM, Big Al at Big.Al@hvwc.net wrote:
> Anyone who has a MIG welder care to tell me what range or power I should
be
> looking for with the intent that it will be used for sheet metal and
knowing
> that I ALSO have a 60-100AMP ARC welderWhatever brand or size of welder
you want to go with, you want to make sure
that it is not one of those little ones that keep overheating every five
minutes and cutting out.
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